Though previously known as a “firebrand cleric” with a Shiite populist and militant line in Iraq, Sadr today presents himself as a moderate, nationalistic champion of change. His visit to Saudi Arabia was likely designed with two audiences in mind.A message to Iraq’s Shiite populationSadr’s
visit was a message to his competitors in Iraq’s increasingly fragmented
Shiite political scene. The Riyadh visit and the fact that Sadr was
hosted at the highest levels of the Saudi establishment will underline
his international relevance and burnish his prestige and credentials as
an Iraqi statesman. This kind of political plumage is especially useful
as Sadr and his rivals jockey for position ahead of next year’s Iraqi
elections.A message to IranSadr’s visit
demonstrated to Iran — and to Iran’s allies and proxies in Iraq/Sadr’s
political rivals — that he not only has options, but he can even push
back against Iran and has the power to potentially hurt
Iranian interests in Iraq. If nothing else, this enables Sadr to present
himself as the face of Arab (non-Iranian) Iraqi Shiism.

This is a
position that resonates with his base — although the extent to which
they will accept a Saudi embrace remains to be seen — and further
differentiates him from his competitors. Having already announced a political alliance with Ayad Allawi,
an anti-Shiite-Islamist figure, this visit will further polish Sadr’s
credentials as a nationalist political figure who can rise above the
politics of sect and ethnicity.

Ammar al-Hakim has also appears to be campaigning. The Shi'ite leader
of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq has formed a new party called
National Wisdom; however, he has insisted that this does not mean he's
left ISCI.

The provincial government in Dhi Qar has been unstable for some time,
with members of different parties and blocs defecting at will or
forming new alliances. The most recent change saw seven members of the
Muwatin, or Citizen bloc, join a brand new party created by the cleric
Ammar al-Hakim. At the end of July al-Hakim, who had led one of the country’s
largest Islamic parties, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, or ISCI,
since 2009, announced he was leaving the party to form a new one. Called
the National Wisdom party, Al-Hakim has said the new party, which has
dropped Islamic from the name, is a project to rejuvenate Shiite Muslim
politics in Iraq and to appeal to younger supporters. Al-Hakim had been
at odds with older members of the ISCI for years.As one commentator has noted, al-Hakim’s new party kept all the ISCI’s assets, essentially “stripping [them] of both the symbolism and the assets”.

Politicians in Dhi Qar appear to agree with al-Hakim’s new stand. The
new party is about the creation of a new political generation,” said
Adel al-Dukhili, the deputy governor of the province, one of those who
defected to the National Wisdom party. ” A movement that believes in
rapid change and turning challenges into opportunities, by adopting a
clear manifesto.”

Will elections come in 2018?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

They've been twice postponed this year with no outrage expressed on the part of the global community.

Iraqi Sunni politician and leader of the Ummah Party Mithal al-Alusi
says that Iraq has failed its people and that the Kurds are justified in
their quest for separation and the establishment of a state of their
own.

“This is a cardboard state,” says al-Alusi in an interview with
al-Iraqiya state television. “The Kurds have the right to say: I don’t
want to be part of such a failed state.”

Al-Alusi, who describes himself as a secular politician from Anbar,
cites the interference of regional countries as proof of Iraq’s failure.

“Is Qasem Soleimani entering Iraq on a visa? Does he have residency
permit?” he asks. “Iranian intelligence working as advisors is this
sovereignty? Saudi money piling up with the Sunnis, is this Iraqi
sovereignty and an intact state?”

Soleimani is the commander of Iran’s Quds Force who is said to have been
hired by the Iraqi government as an advisor to the defense ministry.

Al-Alusi who has been elected twice to the parliament and is a proponent
of good relations with the West, including Israel, believes that Iraq
has violated its own constitution which has given the Kurds a reason to
seek a path of separation.

“We all voted for and agreed on this constitution that stipulates the
unity of Iraq, but where has it got now and what democracy have we
Iraqis got?” he says.

The move for self-determination is outlined in the Constitution.

Among the fear if the Kurds attempt it?

Neighbors like Turkey which regularly crush their own Kurdish population fear this will set an example.

The other fear in the room?

That Kurds taking this step might lead other areas of Iraq to do the same.